Register by Jan 13 to save on passes and connect with marketers from Uber, Bose and more
This research is based on unique data collected from our proprietary audience of publisher, agency, brand and tech insiders. It’s available to Digiday+ members. More from the series →
In February, publishers braced themselves for a tough quarter ahead. Now, reality is beginning to emerge.
A Digiday Research survey of 127 publishers found that 52% of publishers missed their first-quarter numbers. About 23% managed to exceed their forecasts, while 25% hit them.
Publishers are bracing for a worse second-quarter: 80% have lowered forecasts.
Back in March, Digiday Research found that 88% of the publishing executives surveyed expected to miss business goals for the entire year. About 85% of them expected to see a decline in ad revenue, 79% in event revenue and 68% in commerce revenue.
It’s been an especially tough time for news publishers: 59% of them said they missed their forecasts in the first quarter, and 19% of them exceeded it.
As for the second quarter, only 1% have raised their forecast, while a whopping 70% have lowered it.
Advertisers continue to be reluctant to spend any money on ads alongside coronavirus content. A prior Digiday survey found that 40% of brands are not advertising next to coronavirus-related news online, up slightly from the same survey conducted a month ago, when 37% said they will not buy ads alongside coronavirus-related content.
More in Media
Media Briefing: Here’s what media execs are prioritizing in 2026
Media executives enter 2026 weathered by disruption, but refocused on AI revenue, brand strength and video and creator opportunities.
Why publishers are building their own creator networks
Publishers are forming creator networks to regain control, combat traffic declines, and reach audiences shifting toward influencers.
The accidental guardian: How Cloudflare’s Matthew Prince became publishing’s unexpected defender
Cloudflare’s day job is fending off botnets and nation-state cyberattacks, not debating how Google and other AI firms crawl publisher sites.